"That Others May Live"

[ScreaminChief]

There are undoubtedly people here, veterans and newbies alike, who are unfamiliar with the USAF PJ's. As a former Army medic I can put it this way; they are what most medics want to be when they grow up. They are the elite of emergency medicine and can back it up with formidible deployability and combat tactics. Here is a brief history of their proud lineage.

The history of Pararescue began in August of 1943, when 21 persons bailed out of a disabled C-46 over an uncharted jungle near the China-Burma border. So remote was the crash site that the only means of getting help to the survivors was by paradrop. Lieutenant Colonel Don Fleckinger and two medical corpsmen volunteered for the assignment. This paradrop of medical corpsmen was the seed from which the concept of Pararescue was born. For a month these men, aided by natives, cared for the injured until the party was brought to safety. News commentator Eric Severeid was one of the men to survive this ordeal. He later wrote of the men who risked their lives to save his: "Gallant is a precious word; they deserve it".

From this event the need for a highly trained rescue force was found; thus, Pararescueman was brought into being. Rescues since then have occurred in virtually every corner of the world. Since that first rescue, many airmen, soldiers, and civilians have had first hand experience that when trouble strikes, Pararescuemen are ready to come to their aid.

Some of the most inspiring stories originate from the conflict in Vietnam involved heroic deeds performed by Pararescuemen. They risked their lives flying over hostile territory to find friendly forces needing aid. Daily, Pararescuemen volunteered to ride a rescue hoist cable into the Vietnamese jungle to aid wounded infantrymen and injured pilots, whose aircraft had been shot down. The Air Force awarded nineteen Air Force Crosses to enlisted personnel during the Vietnam War; ten of the nineteen were awarded to Pararescuemen.

Pararescuemen provided medical treatment for injured and wounded men picked up from the jungles. These deeds are still performed daily, even in time of peace. Distinctive recognition came to Pararescuemen in early 1966. General John P. McConnell, then Air Force Chief of Staff, approved the wearing of the maroon beret. The beret symbolizes the blood sacrificed by Pararescuemen and their devotion to duty by aiding others in distress. To Pararescuemen living up to their motto, "That Others May Live", is a daily reality.

The formal training of a Pararescueman is a never ending program. They continually strive to perfect procedures while constantly searching for new techniques. A major development in Pararescue was the combination of parachuting with scuba techniques. When ready to jump, the scuba equipped pararescueman carries as much as 170 pounds of equipment.

One of the most dramatic events involving Pararescue scuba action was at the termination of the Gemini 8 space flight. When the decision was made to halt the mission due to difficulties encountered by Astronauts David Scott and Neil Armstrong, rescue forces on alert at stations in the far east went into action. A rescue crew from Naha Air Base, Okinawa, flew to the predicted splashdown area and arrived in time to see the spacecraft hit the water. Three Pararescuemen parachuted into the ocean and had flotation equipment attached within 20 minutes. The Pararescuemen stayed with the astronauts until a Navy destroyer arrived three hours later to take the mall aboard.

Pararescuemen provided continued support to the National Aeronautics and space Administration's (NASA) Skylab missions. Presently, Pararescuemen are providing rescue support to the space shuttle program. Pararescuemen have constantly trained to remain responsive to NASA's needs.

The primary purpose of Pararescue is to save lives. The work of the Pararescuemen is an important phase of the rescue concept. For example, in a two week period, Pararescuemen were called upon to aid two Russian transport merchant seamen in two different areas. The first mission involved a badly burned sailor on a Russian transport vessel in the Atlantic, 700 miles from the nearest land. Two Pararescuemen, stationed in the Azores were flown to the Russian ship. They parachuted near the ship and treated the sailor until the ship reached port days later saving his life. Two weeks later another distress call from a Russian ship was relayed. This time the ship was a fishing vessel in the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon Coast. A team of three Pararescuemen from Portland parachuted into the Pacific. They treated the Russian sailor for serious back and head injuries caused by the fall. When the ship was close enough, a Coast Guard vessel picked upthe sailor and took him ashore to a hospital.

In 1989, Pararescuemen were instrumental in recovering and treating injured motorists at a collapsed section of highway following a devastating earthquake in the San Francisco, California area. Pararescuemen were the only rescue people "on-scene" who would volunteer to crawl between the sections of collapsed highway to access conditions and recover casualties. In recognition of the selfless dedication to saving lives President Bush personally recognized the heroic actions of these men.

More recently, Pararescuemen were among the first U.S. combatants to parachuteinto Panama during operation "Just Cause" (1989). Their combat medical expertise was heavily utilized during this short, intense operation. In fact, using specially modified vehicles dubbed "RATT-V's"they recovered and cared for the majority of the U.S. casualties that occurred on the two Panamanian controlled airfields that were taken by the initial invasion forces.

Recently, Pararescuemen were tasked with rescue missions involving downed aircrew members and injured combatants during United Nations operation"Desert Storm". This action for the liberation of Kuwait again proved the value of the Air Force Pararescueman. Among the missions performed by Pararescue was the rescue of a downed F-14 navigator in a very hostile area; involving the destruction of enemy forces in very close proximity to the survivor. Pararescue also provided extensive support for airlift operations providing humanitarian relief to Kurdish refugees fleeing into northern Iraq.

Most recently, Pararescuemen were involved in the struggle to capture Somalia leader Mohammed Farrah Aidid. Assigned jointly with army Rangers, PJs were tasked to operate in a Search and Rescue (SAR) role on Army helicopters.After the initial assault began, two Army helicopters were shot down, PJ sresponded to the scene to assist survivors and treat the wounded. The helocrashes were in the middle of the battle zone. The PJs, along with a Combat Controller and additional Army Rangers, were inserted into the firefight, removed injured personnel from further danger and administered life saving emergency medical treatment. As a direct result of their actions, the missionwas completed and many lives were saved in the process.


Extracted from 342 TRS/CTFI Pamphlet 50-1

[RFleischman]

I have met a few PJs and let me just say; those guys are bad ass!!!

[Batgirl]

Real heros. Thanks for posting that Chief.

[mmcarthu]

Originally Posted by RFleischman

I have met a few PJs and let me just say; those guys are bad ass!!!

Well said! I've met a few PJs in my short life and like RFleischman stated, they are some badass fellas. And the one's I met were also very helpful in providing any information they were "allowed" to give.

[raziel_ko_ryo]

sorry to bother everyone with this post (as i'm the newbie). I'm not in the military yet, i've signed up and i'm leaving for basic in OCT 11. I've signed up for pararescue. I've been working out constantly trying to get myself into shape. I was wondering if anyone here could offer some advice (or any response at all for that matter) to help me better prepare for what I've signed up for.

[SR-25]

Besides getting yourself into shape physically, no matter what DONT QUIT!. And pay attention in all of your classes.

[Rusty24]

Swimming, its the one thing that sends most people packing.

[Grimmy]

I dont remember what channel..might have been the Military Channel (a rather new offshoot of Discovery) but there was a series on USAF PJ training. It is intense by anyones standards.

Swimming is mega important to work on. But also medical knowledge. The classroom training got alot of men dropped that had made it past the physical parts.
There's also a very large premium placed on ability to function under preassure. Alot of the medical training is conducted and tested under pretty intense field combat senarios.

[Rusty24]

Good Point Grimmy, the PJ's attend the SOMC course at Bragg. The SOMC course is what the Army uses to qualify its medics for the Special Forces. Plus if you are scared to jump out of aircraft, there is another disqualifier.

So in other words, you need to swim good, want to jump out of aircraft, have the motivation to learn basic medicine and determination.